Chaifetz Arena, Saint Louis, MO
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
9:00PM
Media
TV: CBSSN
Online: CBSSN
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Previews
Saint Louis Fan Forum
The University of Rhode Island continues their road trip as they head to Missouri to take on the Saint Louis Billikens. The Billikens, who were picked to finish second in the A10 preseason poll, are coincidentally currently in second place. Saint Louis come into this game with on a two game losing streak with losses at home to conference leading VCU & a road loss to Fordham. They will look to put a stop to that on Tuesday night.
To start the season, the Billikens had players nominated all over the place on the preseason awards. Junior guard Yuri Collins was named on the first team & the voters nailed that pick. Collins is averaging a double-double on the season with 11.5 points and an astonishing 10.2 assists. Collins is leading all of college basketball in assists per game. He had a 20-assist game against Tennessee State earlier this season, which broke his own school record that he set when he got 19 against Boston College last season. Collins was also on the preseason all-defensive team & is currently leading the team in steals, with 30 on the year. On the preseason second team they had Gibson Jimerson, who probably has the whitest name in the league, & Javonte Perkins. Jimerson is leading the Billikens in points with 12.7 & Javonte Perkins is third on the team with 11 points per game. Jimerson is also Saint Louis’ biggest three-point threat. Downlow, they have third team player & former Oregon Duck Francis Okoro who was also selected on the all-defensive team. The senior is averaging 7.3 points per game & 8.7 rebounds. His rebounds per game puts him in the top 55 in all of college basketball. And for good measure they have a fourth player averaging in double figures with guard Javon Pickett. The fifth-year senior transfer from Missouri is averaging 10 & 5 on the season.
The Rams are coming off one of their poorest performances of the season in which they were totally outplayed & outclassed against a mediocre Saint Joseph’s team. Bray & Ish shot a combined 7-27 & as a team they went a paltry 1 for 13 from deep. The Rams had 18 turnovers to just 6 assists. Remove Malik from the equation & as a team they had just 2 assists. Insert vomit emoji here. If Jalen Carey can’t play because of the injury in last week’s game, get ready for some Bassy minutes & we all know how much the board loves that.
Come tipoff Tuesday night, it will be 388 days since the Rams last road victory. Ummm, that seems less than ideal. The Rams have lost 3 in a row & 4 of 5 against St Louis & look for this streak to continue. The Billikens have a really good team & should easily cruise to victory. This should be the first time since Kansas State that the Rams will be double digit underdogs. My prediction Saint Louis 71 – URI 57. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
15-8, 7-3 in the A10
23-12, 12-6 in the A10 (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 94 (233)
RPI: 48 (243)
KenPom: 92 (221)
BPI: 86 (226)
Sagarin: 85 (203)
Barttovik: 102 (220)
Leaders:
Points – Gibson Jimerson 12.7 (Soph., G)
Rebounds – Francis Okoro 8.7 (Sr., F)
Assists – Yuri Collins 10.2 (Jr., G) (3.4 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 13-10
H: 6-4, A: 6-6, N: 1-0
Most Recent Matchup: 3/2/22 80-74 L at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 3 – Saint Louis
Match-up Predictor: 8.8% Chance of URI Winning